Study makes terrifying prediction for single dads

By: Angeli Kakade

Being a parent means putting someone else's needs before your own, but a new study suggests that has had a significant impact of the well-being of many single fathers.

Canadian-based researchers found single fathers to be twice as likely to report poor physical and mental health.

With single parent households making up 27 percent of families in the U.S., the study's authors set out to pay as much attention to the health of single dads as single moms.

One author told Reuters, "We know that, in general, men are more reluctant to seek health services, especially mental health, because of the stigmas attached."

More than 1,000 single fathers were surveyed between 2001 and 2013. Roughly 12 percent of single parents reported their physical and mental health as poor or fair.

The report says a majority of the single fathers surveyed had been married before and were over 45, with one in five earning less than $30,000 a year and the same number having two or more chronic medical conditions.

Single dads also ate fewer healthier foods, like fruits and vegetables, and had a higher tendency to be overweight.

According to the study, single moms faced higher financial stresses than the single dads. In turn, the fathers faced more stress in the caregiving itself.